TDmonthly - A Trade Magazine For The Toy, Hobby, Game, Juvenile and Gift Industry

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TDMONTHLY MUST READS

TDmonthly's November Staff Picks

Ideopolis' Alphabotz line decks out robots to give whimsical character to phonetics, and stainless steel becomes more present...READ MORE

In This Issue

In TDmonthly Magazine's top-10 most-wanted articles this month, find out which products are selling best for the infamous tween set (boys and girls)...

Toys in the News: 11-6-09

Pending court approval, Toys "R" Us, Target and Kmart will collectively pay $454,000 in civil penalties and other fines to settle a November 2007 lawsuit for selling toys containing excessive levels of lead...

TDMONTHLY TOY VIDEOS

Sharks Show Up on Holiday Videos

From a football game in a deck of cards to a pool table that welcomes sharks, these surprising games and toys encourage family fun...READ MORE

TDMONTHLY SHOP TALK

Retailer Spotlight: Pufferbellies Toys & Books for Children

At Pufferbellies Toys & Books for Children in Staunton, Va., Owners Susan Blanton and her daughter Erin are gearing up for the Christmas season by introducing something new: a personal shopper program called “Your Own Elf.”...READ MORE

My Best Sellers: Pufferbellies Toys & Books

At Pufferbellies Toys & Books for Children in downtown Staunton, Va., customers can find a distinctive blend of the “good old days” along with some fresh and innovative toys....

TDmonthly Goes Inside … Can You Imagine

If you’re looking for boys’ toys, tween items, novelties and things that are just plain fun and imaginative, you might want to step into the Can You Imagine showroom...

TDMONTHLY TOP-10 MOST-WANTED LISTS

Top-10 Most-Wanted Items for Tween Girls

These days, if it’s not a craft to be made, an accessory to be worn or a cute animal to be admired, it’s probably not at the top of tween girls’ want lists....READ MORE

Top-10 Most-Wanted Jewelry and Accessories

A fun piece of jewelry or a cute accessory is a great way for a kid to make a statement, especially if they’ve made it themselves....

Top-10 Most-Wanted Toys for Tween Boys

Notoriously difficult to select products for, boys in their pre and early teens may not be so fixated on electronics and video games after all...

Top-10 Most-Wanted Novelties

If your specialty toy or gift store doesn’t carry Iwako erasers from BC Industries, you should take a second look at the sales of these tiny, collectible, puzzle erasers...

TDMONTHLY CHARITABLE KID CONTEST

14-Year-Old Kimberly Makes Music for Needy Kids

Dozens of special needs and foster children are unexpectedly making music on high-quality toy pianos, thanks to the Schoenhut Piano Company and TDmonthly Magazine's Charitable Kid, 14-year-old Kimberly from South Carolina....READ MORE

TDMONTHLY TOY REVIEWS

TDmonthly’s Music Expert

TDmonthly Magazine’s Music Expert appreciated the vocal and musical attributes of “Teaspoon at a Time,” “Martian Television Invasion” and "American Heroes #3," while also applauding the pertinent messages...READ MORE

TDMONTHLY HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Holiday Price Wars: Toys for $10 and Under

Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Toys “R” Us and other mass merchandisers have embarked on their usual seasonal price cuts on toys and other items for holiday sales....READ MORE

TDMONTHLY POPULAR STORIES

Video Games: Year-End Projections

February 2009 was the last month in which the video game industry in the United States showed growth. That is why everybody was eagerly anticipating September as the first month in which this negative spell would be broken,...READ MORE

Zhu Zhu, Bakugan & Dolls Heat Up Holiday Toy Lists

There's no shortage of gloomy economic forecasts, nor is there a shortage of creativity, value and, yes, affordability coming from today's toymakers...

TDMONTHLY MANUFACTURER'S CORNER

Event Marketing Guru’s Corner: The Seven Deadly Sins of Exhibit Selling

Event marketing professionals, beware these seven deadly killers of buying cycles. If you’re guilty of any combination of them, Danté might have prepared his own special place for you....READ MORE

TDMONTHLY NEW TOYS

Notable and New Toys by Category — Specialty Only

See all the new specialty toys we've uploaded in the last month to make your ordering easier...READ MORE

Notable and New Toys by Category — All

See all the new toys we've uploaded in the last month to make your ordering easier...

TDMONTHLY UPCOMING ISSUES

How the iPod is Changing Kids' Lives

Will Apple's iPod come to rule the world — even for kids? With an increasing number of books, music and games for children created as iPhone apps, and parents who aren't afraid to hand over their "toy"...READ MORE

Toys to Replenish Your Stock

Should aggressive shoppers leave your store looking picked over early in the season, just have a look at TDmonthly Magazine's Holiday Roundup in the December issue, for suggestions of great specialty toys, games and other gift items...